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Governor '''Charlie Crist''' was born in 1956 in Altoona, [[Pennsylvania]], but his family soon settled in St. Petersburg, [[Florida]]. As a public school student Governor Crist quickly learned the value of participation, leading him to serve as class president at St. Petersburg High School and, later, as student body vice president at Florida State University. In high school Crist was the starting quarterback for his football team. He later played football at Wake Forest University before transferring and receiving his undergraduate degree from Florida State in 1978. Governor Crist then earned his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.
Florida Governor '''Charlie Crist''' was born in 1956 in Altoona, [[Pennsylvania]], but his Greek family soon settled in St. Petersburg, Florida.
==Career==
As a public school student Crist quickly learned the value of participation, leading him to serve as class president at St. Petersburg High School and, later, as student body vice president at Florida State University. In high school Crist was the starting quarterback for his football team. He later played football at Wake Forest University before transferring and receiving his undergraduate degree from Florida State in 1978. Governor Crist then earned his law degree from the Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, Alabama.
Crist received invaluable experience in Florida’s criminal justice system while interning in the State Attorney’s Office before accepting a position as general counsel for the minor league division of the Baseball Commissioner’s Office.
==Politics==
Crist began his government service as state director for U.S. Senator Connie Mack before later returning to the private practice of law with the Tampa firm of Wood and Crist.
In 1992, Crist won a seat in the Florida Senate. For six years in the Senate, Governor Crist served as Chairman of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee and as Chairman of the Appropriations Criminal Justice Subcommittee. A strong voice for public safety, he sponsored, among other legislation, the Stop Turning Out Prisoners (STOP) bill requiring prisoners to serve at least 85% of their prison sentences.
Governor Crist’s path of public service next led him to seek election as Attorney General in 2002. He carried the general election by more than one-third of a million votes to become Florida’s first elected Republican Attorney General.
After Crist completed his Senate service, Republican Governor [[Jeb Bush]] appointed him as Deputy Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. In 2000, Governor Crist won a special election and became Florida’s last elected Commissioner of Education.
Crist ws elected Attorney General in 2002. He carried the general election by more than one-third of a million votes to become Florida’s first elected Republican Attorney General.
==Record as Governor==
==Record as Governor==
On November 7, 2006, Charlie Crist was elected to serve as Florida’s Governor.<ref>[http://www.flgov.com/gov_biography|Charlie Crist's Biography]</ref> Although he has held conservative positions on social issues, such as broadening the use of [[capital punishment]] <ref>http://issues2000.org/Governor/Charlie_Crist_Crime.htm</ref>, and he also signed legislation that allows employees, customers and those invited to a business establishment to keep guns locked in their motor vehicles, as long as they have a concealed weapons license. [[Liberal]] critics dubbed it "bring your gun to work day." <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0948339420080409</ref> He also supported a ban on gay adoption. <ref>http://www.dailyhome.com/news/2008/as-nation-1001-0-8i30u4543.htm</ref>
On November 7, 2006, Charlie Crist was elected to serve as Florida’s Governor.<ref>[http://www.flgov.com/gov_biography|Charlie Crist's Biography]</ref> Although he has held conservative positions on social issues, such as broadening the use of [[capital punishment]] <ref>http://issues2000.org/Governor/Charlie_Crist_Crime.htm</ref>, and he also signed legislation that allows employees, customers and those invited to a business establishment to keep guns locked in their motor vehicles, as long as they have a concealed weapons license. [[Liberal]] critics dubbed it "bring your gun to work day." <ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0948339420080409</ref> He also supported a ban on gay adoption. <ref>http://www.dailyhome.com/news/2008/as-nation-1001-0-8i30u4543.htm</ref>
On economics however, his actions have alienated conservatives. Crist supported President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package. With a $2.4 billion state deficit, Crist vetoed Republican proposals to reduce $365 million from the budget. <ref>http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/florida/story/875453.html</ref> In December of 2008, when the state [[economy]] was plunging, Governor Crist took a 12 day trip to [[Europe]] with his fiancée that cost taxpayers $430,000. <ref>http://www.palmbeachpost.com/local_news/content/local_news/epaper/2008/12/08/1208europe.html</ref> Crist defended it as a trip to promote [[free trade]].
On economics however, his actions have alienated conservatives. Crist supported President Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package. With a $2.4 billion state deficit, Crist vetoed Republican proposals to reduce $365 million from the budget. <ref>http://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics/florida/story/875453.html</ref> In December of 2008, when the state economy was plunging, Governor Crist took a 12 day trip to Europe with his fiancée that cost taxpayers $430,000. <ref>http://www.palmbeachpost.com/local_news/content/local_news/epaper/2008/12/08/1208europe.html</ref> Crist defended it as a trip to promote [[free trade]].
Although Crist opposed offshore oil drilling during his gubernatorial campaign, he admittedly changed his position, saying "I mean, let's face it, the price of gas has gone through the roof, and Florida families are suffering, and my heart bleeds for them." <ref>http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D91CGGV81&show_article=1</ref>
Although Crist opposed offshore oil drilling during his gubernatorial campaign, he changed his position, saying "I mean, let's face it, the price of gas has gone through the roof, and Florida families are suffering, and my heart bleeds for them." <ref>http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D91CGGV81&show_article=1</ref>
Christ's reputation is as a fiscal conservative and a moderate on social issues. His style is folksy and he searches for bipartisanship. His handling of the great hurricanes of 2005-6 was widely praised. He appointed one moderate and two conservatives to the state supreme court. His support for [[John McCain]] helped carry the state primary and played a role in giving the 2008 GOP nomination to McCain. He cut property taxes and cut the state budget, but annoyed some conservatives by his enthusiastic support for the Obama administration's stimulus bill in spring 2009. Polls show a strong base of support from conservatives and moderates and some liberals. Christ will run for reelection in 2010; his rival in the 2010 GOP primary will be state House Speaker [[Marco Rubio]], a conservative Cuban American.
==References==
==References==